In a first-of-its-kind in India, the Kochi Water Metro has been successfully providing an integrated ferry transport network to connect 10 islands to the mainland. Designed along the lines of the Metro Rail, the Kochi Water Metro offers a convenient and eco-friendly transport system, and connectivity to the local people and tourists.
The largest integrated water transport system of its kind in Asia, the Kochi Water Metro uses modern, air-conditioned, electric-hybrid boats and features accessible terminals and floating pontoons. The stations are built just like the Metro Rail, and the interior of the boats resembles a Metro train compartment. It is also described as the largest electric-boat Metro transportation infrastructure being implemented in the world.
“This is the first time in India somebody is trying an electric vehicle operating in water,” Kochi Water Metro’s Chief Operating Officer Sajan P John told a group of visiting journalists from across India. “When we started designing these boats, we went to see (water transport systems) in different countries, mainly in Europe. But they couldn’t have any model (suitable for us). We had to start from zero. Now we have 20 boats only. But the plan is for 78 boats.”
The ferries were ordered to be built by Cochin Shipyard, with propulsion systems designed by Siemens and Echandia. The total cost of the Water Metro project is Rs 1,137 crore. Cochin Shipyard delivered the first of the electric ferries in January 2022. The system uses specially designed floating pontoons and terminals for easy, step-free boarding, making it accessible for all passengers, including those with disabilities.
Soumini Jain, Ex-Mayor, Kochi Municipal Corporation, described how the jetties are designed to float with the tides – high and low. “It’s a very innovative kind of thing that’s been done here,” she said. “There is no floating jetty anywhere in the country. The whole of the public transport system, this is the first time it has been done.”
Out of a total of 14 islands in the Greater Kochi area, the Water Metro connects 10. Operating along 38 terminals, there are three sub-stations. The fleet of Metro boats operates on 15 different routes spanning 76 km of the sea. It is integrated with the Kochi Metro Rail and serves as a feeder service to the suburbs along the rivers, where transport accessibility is limited.
The minimum ticket price of the metro system is Rs 20, and the maximum fare is Rs 40. Weekly passes are available at Rs 180, a monthly pass costs Rs 600, and a quarterly pass costs Rs 1,500. The same ticket or pass can be used to travel in the Metro train and boat through the Automatic Fare Collection system.
Operations officially started two years back, in 2023. Construction started in 2016, and the first route between Vyttila and InfoPark was inaugurated in February 2021 by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. It was officially inaugurated and opened to passengers by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25 April 2023.
“It’s good going, beamed Mr John. “On 20 September, we crossed 50 lakh ridership. That was a milestone we have achieved.”
The Water Metro seeks not just to provide connectivity to the island communities but also to improve their economy. “The objective of the project is actually to have some benefits for people, around the islands,” elaborated Mr John. “Improving connectivity improves their economic standards and their opportunities. This is because they are depending on the mainland for almost everything – for education, for health, for everything they are dependent on the mainland. So, improving their connectivity, we make their economy rise. The other way, people from the mainland will go to the islands. And it will (also) be a tourism possibility.”
The boats, fitted with Lithium Titanate Oxide batteries, can be charged at all major stations, informed Mr John. These batteries, which can be charged very quickly and meet high safety standards, are the same kind of battery used in Europe. The ones used by Kochi Water Metro is Swedish technology, he added.
Special electric ports known as “Super Chargers” can fully charge a boat in 15 minutes. These ports, explained Mr John, have a charge of around 300 kW. The boats are continuously charged one after the other. “For the last two years, it has had no rest,” he grinned. Once fully charged, it is sufficient for one hour of operation, which can cover the entire trip can be covered. Once the boat comes back, it will charge again, even when the passengers are boarding and disembarking.
The Kochi Water Metro is featured in UN Habitat-World Cities Report Climate Action case studies in its November 2024 edition under the heading “Enhancing Urban Mobility through Low-Carbon Water Transport”. Similar reports were also featured in Development Asia, the Asian Development Bank’s knowledge collaboration platform, and the NDC Partnership, a coalition of more than 130 countries for Climate Action and Sustainable development.
The success of Kochi Water Metro has triggered a feasibility study by India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways through the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) to replicate similar projects in other navigable inland waterways in the country. Initially, a list of 17 Cities was finalised, and later four more cities were added.